


Us Milkoviches

by kikabennet



Series: The Wonderful World of Teenagers [8]
Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: Canon Gay Relationship, Daddy!Ian, Daddy!Mickey, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Family Secrets, Father-Daughter Relationship, Father-Son Relationship, Fatherhood, Growing Up, Married Couple, Married Life, Multi, Teenagers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-16
Updated: 2016-09-16
Packaged: 2018-08-15 07:51:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8048338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kikabennet/pseuds/kikabennet
Summary: Sequel to "School Night" and part of the "Wonderful World of Teenagers" series. The kids begin discovering things about themselves as well as their parents.





	Us Milkoviches

**Author's Note:**

> Hey look! I'm alive! Sorry for the long delay! I really need to push myself back into a Shameless cycle so I can continue this story without getting mentally blocked. I hope you enjoy and remember I'm always open to ideas and try to answer questions and respond to all comments so feel free to write away! This story will have more of an Ian/Mickey central plot in later chapters btw so be prepared to miss the kids for a bit.

“I'm so nervous,” Yevegeny said as Jimmy fixed the collar on the teenager's shirt. “I've never had to meet a girl's parents before.”

“They're gonna love you,” Jimmy said, and he sounded so confident, that Yevgeny almost believed him. “And what's the lovely lady's name again?”

“Carmelita,” Yevgeny said. “But she mostly just goes by 'Lita'.”

“Carmelita,” Jimmy said, trying it out. “Well, assuming all goes well, you should bring her to our place sometime.”

He turned the teenager around a few times in a circle, carefully inspecting him. Mickey walked by and stood in the open doorway.

“How does he look?” Jimmy asked, putting a piece of gelled hair back into place.

“He looks like you,” Mickey said, eyebrows raised high.

Jimmy grinned and slapped Yevgeny on the back. His cell phone rang and he answered it and asked, “What's up, Fiona? Sure, I'll be right there.”

To Yevgeny he mouthed, 'good luck' before walking out of the Milkovich bathroom and down the stairs where he playfully tousled Gavrel's hair and kissed the top of Izzy's head.

“Bye, Uncle Jimmy,” Izzy said absent-mindedly, staring at her drawing.

Yevgeny looked pleadingly at his father.

“Do I look okay?” He asked.

Mickey hesitated and said, “The clothes are alright, but let's fix your hair. Fuckin' Jimmy, man.”

He went to work messing up and restyling his son's hair. Yevgeny drummed his fingers against the bathroom counter top.

“Sit on the toilet,” Mickey said. “Like trying to fix the hair on a giraffe.”

Yevgeny closed the toilet lid and sat down on top of it.

“Did you and Dad talk it over?” He asked.

“The job thing?” Mickey reached across his head to pick up a comb. “We're still talkin', don't get your hopes up yet, but maybe we can work out a weekend deal.”

Gavrel walked into the bathroom and groaned loudly.

“I have to pee,” he said.

“So go downstairs,” Mickey said. “Ain't that where you just were?”

“Yeah, but I was on my way to my room so I came up here,” Gavvie said.

“Well, you're gonna either have to go back downstairs or wait,” his father said. “We're busy.”

“Why are you dressed like Uncle Jimmy?” Gavrel asked Yevgeny.

“Hey, you know what Yevvie's doing? Minding his own business,” Mickey said. “Why don't you get you some?”

Gavrel walked out of the bathroom and then Izzy walked in. She smiled at her eldest brother and said, “You look so handsome!”

“You think so?” Yevgeny asked. “I think I have a zit coming on my chin.”

Izzy turned his attention to Mickey and said, “Joey's coming over for dinner.”

“Hey, as often as he eats over here,” Mickey said. “He might as well start bringing money. This is not a restaurant.”

Izzy rolled her eyes because she knew he was teasing. She skipped back downstairs and went into the kitchen where Ian was making fajitas in the oven.

“Grab the tortillas out of the pantry, would you?” He asked her, returning spices to their rightful jumbled mess in the cabinet above the stove.

Izzy took the package of store-bought tortillas out the pantry and passed them over.

“Joey's coming over,” she said.

“Okay,” Ian said. “There's plenty.”

“Do you like Joey?” Izzy asked.

“Yeah,” Ian said, gathering dishes for the washer. “He's a good kid.”

A knock sounded at the door and Izzy said, “That's him.”

She went to open it and was not greeted by Joey, but instead, Stephanie.

“Hey, Izzy,” she said.

Izzy smiled. “Hi, Steph. Gavrel!”

Gavrel sauntered downstairs and grabbed his hat and sweater. When he got to the door he called, “I'm going out!”

Ian quickly closed the dishwasher, and wiping his hands on the seat of his jeans, emerged from the kitchen.

“Going out where?” He asked.

Gavrel shrugged. “I dunno. Just out.”

Izzy caught the challenge in her brother's voice and looked between him and their father. Ian hesitated only for a fraction of a second before putting on a cheerful voice and turned his attention to Stephanie.

“Stephanie,” he asked. “Why don't you stay for dinner? I'm making fajitas.”

Stephanie looked at Gavrel who said nothing and then smiled and nodded.

“Sure,” she said. “Thanks.”

“You wanna go sit in the backyard?” Gavrel asked.

“Okay,” she said.

She went out the kitchen door first and before Gavrel could follow, Ian took him by the arm and said quietly, “Remember what I told you about being alone with her.”

Gavrel ripped his arm away quickly and followed her out the door, shutting it too hard. Izzy jumped a little when he slammed it.

“Why do you let me and Joey in my bedroom with the door closed, but not Gavvie and Steph?” She asked, returning to the table to finish her picture.

“Should I be worried about you two with the door closed?” Ian asked.

Izzy shook her head. “I know right from wrong, Dad. I'm not stupid.”

Ian smiled and moved to kiss her temple.

“I know you're not,” he said.

Yevgeny and Ian came downstairs and Ian smiled again.

“Aw, Yev,” he said. “You look great.”

“So can I borrow the car?” Yevgeny asked. “I promise I won't wreck it.”

Ian rolled his eyes, but tossed him the keys.

“Have a good time, Kid,” Mickey told him.

When he was out the door, Ian and Mickey looked at each other and Izzy wondered what they were thinking. Probably about how Yevgeny was growing up and it warmed their hearts and blah blah blah. The door sounded again and Mickey opened it. It was Joey this time.

“Come on in,” Mickey told him.

“You hungry, Joey?” Ian asked.

“It smells good,” Joey said.

 

=============================================================

 

Yevgeny sighed deeply as he parked the car on the street and smoothed out his hair. He'd seen Carmelita's house plenty of times when he dropped her off-a nice house near the high school, but he'd never been inside of it.

He went up to the door and knocked, rocking uncertainly on his heels. Caremlita answered and dragged him inside.

“Oh, look at you,” she said quietly, grinning.

“I feel like I'm on a job interview,” he said, also quietly.

“Lita?” An older, heavier man walked out of the kitchen. He was completely bald except for a gray beard. “Is this Yev-Jenny?”

“Yevgeny, Dad,” Lita said, pulling him more into the house.

“Hi, Sir,” Yevgeny dutifully stuck out his hand. “How are you?”

“Fine, yourself?” Mr. Cardenza said, shaking his hand firmly. “I'm cooking out on the pit. Shouldn't be long. Come on outside.”

Yevgeny followed Lita and her father out the back door, where a slew of small dogs jumped at his ankles. A woman carrying a pitcher of lemonade moved them to the side with her feet. She looked like Carmelita, only older.

“Chloe, Kneeley, Jax, get down,” she told the little yipping hairballs.

“Hello,” she said, also shaking Yevgeny's hand. “I'm Anabel.”

Whatever was cooking on the large grill smelled amazing. Lita offered Yevgeny a lawn chair and sat down beside him.

“We're from Louisiana,” Mr. Cardenza said. “Meat cooked outdoors is different there.”

He winked and said, “It's better.”

Yevgeny relaxed now, almost positive that Mr. Cardenza wasn't out to get him. It always seemed like that in the movies or on television.

“Yevgeny,” Mrs. Cardenza said, handing him a glass of lemonade. “That's such an interesting name. Lita, you told us, but I forgot. What is it? French?”

“Russian,” Yevgeny said. “My mother is from Russia.”

“Russia.” Mrs. Cardenza nodded. “Have you ever been?”

“Um, yeah, once,” Yevgeny said, also nodding, drumming his fingers against his glass. “When I was twelve.”

“Do you speak Russian?” Mr. Cardenza asked.

“Yes, Sir,” Yevgeny said.

“Ooh, say something in Russian!” Mrs. Cardenza coaxed.

“Mom,” Lita said, fighting back a grin. “You don't like it when people do that to us about Spanish.”

“What about your father?” Mr. Cardenza asked. “Is he also from Russia?”

Yevgeny tried to fish something from Lita's face getting the okay to explain his paternal situation, but she gave nothing away.

“My dad's mom was Ukrainian. I never met her, she died when he was little kid,” he said.

Lita nodded and mouthed, 'It's okay'.

“And my other dad,” he said, his cheeks burning. “His family's Irish. They're a couple of generations removed from Dublin though.”

“Oh, right, Lita told us about your dad being gay,” Lita's mother said. “You know, we don't know any gay people.”

“It's true,” her father said, checking the meat on the pit.

“Well,” Yevgeny rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. “It's not really different from knowing straight people.”

“I always hear they make the best babysitters,” Lita's mother said and her daughter turned red.

“Mom, come on!” She said. “This isn't the zoo. Yevvie's dads are just two ordinary guys.”

“You said your last name is Milkovich?” Mr. Cardenza asked.

“Yes, Sir.”

“I work with your dad,” He said. “Well, not with him, but he's given the okay on some of the projects my team has done out at the plants. Mickey, right?”

“Yeah.” Yevgeny smiled a little. “Small world.”

“He's a good guy, tough son of a bitch, but he has a strong work ethic.”

“Do you have any brothers or sisters?” Mrs. Cardenza asked. “Lita has a sister.”

“You have a sister?” Yevgeny asked her.

“Yeah.” Lita shrugged. “She's back in Louisiana. She attends LSU.”

Yevgeny mentally went through their history together. He could have sworn at one point she said she was an only child and envied him for having siblings. Had she really just said she envied him because they were younger siblings?

=======================================================================

 

“So Joey and I have to do this project at school,” Izzy said as the family plus Joey plus Stephanie sat down to dinner. There were not enough chairs so the computer chair with wheels had been wheeled in and Mickey took that seat.

“All of the sixth graders have to do it,” she continued. “It's this paper we have to write about our real life heroes.”

“Do you have any real life heroes?” Gavrel asked, frowning.

Izzy shrugged. “Sure. Lots of them. Aunt Fiona, Aunt Debbie, Mom...Dad?”

She turned to Ian.

“Didn't Aunt Fiona raise you?” She asked.

“Um, yeah,” he said. “Me, Lip, Debbie, Carl, and Liam.”

“How come there's no dudes in that mix?” Mickey asked, putting a generous helping of salsa on his tortilla.

“I'll probably pick out an athlete,” Joey said. “Because when I grow up I want to be one.”

After dinner, Ian served some of Sheila's sugar free peanut butter cookies for dessert and then everyone went outside to the backyard. There was still a swing set, but it was never played on anymore. Izzy and Joey went and sat on the swings that were much too small for them now. They made a show of standing up and swinging.

“Want to go up to my room?” Gavrel asked Stephanie.

“Sure,” she said.

Ian shot Gavrel a warning look, but quickly turned his attention back to Izzy who called out, “Dad! Look at me spin! This is so fun!”

 

==========================================================

 

“Is something going on between you and your dad?” Stephanie asked when Gavrel closed the door and locked it behind them.

“My dad's an idiot,” Gavrel said. “Both of them. They treat me like I'm a baby.”

He turned on the game system and tossed her a controller. They climbed onto the bed and watched as the opening credits for the game came on the television screen. For several minutes they half sat, half laid in silence playing the game, the only sound being their breathing and fingers mashing on buttons and joysticks.

“So what was it like to kiss me?” Stephanie asked suddenly.

Gavrel shrugged.

“What was it like to kiss me?” He asked.

“I don't know,” she said. “I thought kissing was supposed to be different. Like you got butterflies in your stomach or something.”

Gavrel's fingers stopped moving against the joystick and buttons. Stephanie glanced at him.

“Are you okay?” She asked nervously, eyeing the spot where his insulin pump was hidden under his shirt.

“Yeah.” Gavrel shook his head slightly and kept playing.

He couldn't tell Stephanie about the butterflies, about how one actually could get them from kissing. Everytime Jakob kissed him...the very thought of the thought itself made goosebumps rise to his skin.

“Okay, tell me what's wrong,” Stephanie said, pausing the game and sitting up. “You're freaking me out.”

“What do you mean?” He asked.

“You look like you saw a ghost,” Stephanie told him.

 

\------------------------=================================================

 

“I already did my assignment,” Joey told Izzy as they sat on her bed. Izzy was at the head of the bed sitting cross-legged and Joey was stretched across it on his stomach.

“You did?” Izzy asked.

Joey nodded and moved into a sitting position, fishing up a small stack of folded up sheets of notebook paper.

“I finished it this morning,” he said, staring at the sqare in his hand.

Izzy could see his cheeks turning red against his sun-tanned skin. She put her sketchbook down and asked, “Can I read it?”

Joey hesitated and Izzy asked instead, “Will you read it to me?”

His cheeks burned even more, but with shaking hands, Joey nodded and carefully began to unfold the sheets of paper.

“ 'My real life hero is not a war veteran, fire fighter, police officer, or even a star athlete. My hero is someone you'd never give a single thought to if you passed them on the street because they look just like the rest of us, but isn't that the life of a super hero? Somebody ordinary right under our noses until it's revealed to us all of the extraordinary things they can do?

I recently made friends with a girl with an amazing father, the kind of father I would be proud to call my own. He doesn't wear a badge or carry an ax or play for the Chicago Bears. In fact, when I first met him, he was busy making dinner and doing laundry. He's been helping me to get my grades up, and in the time I've spent with him, I've learned a lot.

Men can be the breadmakers of a home. They can cook and clean and nurture and still be tough as nails. They can attend PTA meetings and still teach you hand to hand combat. Men can be together and still be men.

Spending time with him, I learned about another hero, a super hero I didn't even know was in plain sight the whole time because I only knew her by her secret identity-'Mom'. Women can be breadwinners. They can fix leaky pipes, mow the lawn, be hard on their kids when they need to be and still give them kisses goodnight.

My real life hero is my mother, Eliza Pols. She has stepped up to the plate to be both my mother and my father, dual roles that must be exhausting, but she does it without a single complaint. Even when things were hard for us, just the two of us, she never gave up.

I would also like to acknowledge Ian Milkovich, the father of my friend, who helped me to realize that being a hero isn't about looking the part, but doing what you do because it's completely selfless.”

He quickly refolded the papers back up and muttered, “I'm still working on it.”

Izzy didn't know what to say. Her own cheeks heated as tears stung her eyes.

“Oh, Joey,” she said, quickly wiping at her eyes.

“It's cheesy-” he said.

“It's not,” Izzy said. “It's beautiful.”

Joey frowned.

“Handsome,” Izzy tried and quickly shook her head. “It's real. That's what counts.”

After several seconds of silence, she added, “You should read it to your mom.”

 

========================================================================================

 

Stephanie and Joey left around the same time, and after Gavrel had walked Stephanie outside, he went back in without saying a word to Mickey, Ian, or Izzy, and jogged up the stairs back to his room. He took out his phone and scrolled to Jakob's number, staring at it.

A knock sounded at his door and he jumped slightly, moving to open it. It was Yevgeny.

“The door's locked,” his older brother remarked.

“I thought you were Mickey or Ian,” Gavrel said.

“No, it's just me,” Yevgeny said, toeing his shoes off.

Gavrel sat on his bed and Yevgeny sat on his, sighing and flopping back onto his pillow. Gavrel stared at him.

“How'd it go with Lita's parents?” He wanted to know.

Yevgeny, who was covering his eyes with one arm, shrugged his free shoulder.

“They're nice,” he said.

The two of them sat in silence. Gavrel finally got up and walked out of the room, going into the backyard through the kitchen door. He went and sat down on one of the swings, barely moving as he took out his phone and scrolled to Jakob's number again. With shaking hands, he called him. The first ring was slow, the second was deafening. Jakob picked up on the third ring.

“Hello?” He asked.

“Hey,” Gavrel said, feeling stupid.

The line was silent for a moment.

“Hey,” Jakob finally said.

“I haven't heard from you in a while,” Gavrel told him, shifting uncomfortably on the too-small seat of the swing.

“Same here,” Jakob said, his voice sounding oddly flat. “Listen, is there something you need? I have a lot of homework to do.”

“Oh, no, Man, go ahead,” Gavrel said, flustered. “I'll catch you some other time.”

Jakob didn't say anything.

“I guess I'll hang up now,” Gavrel said awkwardly this time.

“Okay,” Jakob said, and the line went dead.

Gavrel sat there, still gently swaying side to side as he stared at the 'call ended' message on his phone screen. He looked up when he heard the back door open and saw Ian.

“I thought I heard that door,” Ian said, walking over to him. He sat on the opposite swing, looking at Gavrel.

“Jake hates me,” The fourteen-year old said, not looking at his father.

Ian didn't say anything. He simply reached over and took the chain of Gavrel's swing, bringing the boy closer. He then wrapped his arm and Gavrel's shoulder and rubbed his hand up and down his arm.

“He doesn't hate you,” he said. “You kids are at a time in your lives where things are complicated and you're figuring things out and it's not easy and it's frustrating and...”

He sighed and said, “I've been there. I know.”

“Not what I'm going through,” Gavrel said, taking his swing chain back, removing himself from Ian.

Ian couldn't help but try not to smile.

“You'd be surprised,” he said quietly.

When Gavrel said nothing, Ian slapped his son's thigh playfully with the back of his hand.

“Come on,” he said. “It's late.”

“Just give me a few more minutes,” Gavrel said, and Ian hesitated before nodding and going inside.

Izzy came outside next, a half hour later and sat on the swing Ian had occupied. Gavrel frowned at her when she sighed deeply.

“I think I'm falling in love with Joey,” she said simply.

“You get right to the fucking point, don't you?” Gavrel joked dryly, raising an eyebrow at her.

Izzy kicked her feet a little, staring down at the ground.

“I find out more about him everyday,” she said. “New things, and sometimes they make me sad, but mostly they make me happy and he's smarter than I gave him credit for, and we think alike, I just didn't know it at first.”

Gavrel kicked his feet a little too, watching a small cloud of dust rise from his shoe.

“I'm gay,” he said.

Izzy looked at him, her brows furrowing. Gavrel's cheeks burned.

“Did you not hear me?” She frowned. “I'm falling in love with my best friend. My only friend.”

“Did you not hear me?” Gavrel shot back. “I'm fucking gay.”

“Big fucking deal!” Izzy hopped off the swing. “My problem is bigger than yours. Not everything is about you, Gavvie! Oh, big whoop! You're gay!”

Gavrel hopped off.

“Are you not even listening?” He demanded. “Your brother just announced he likes boys!”

Izzy stopped ranting and her shoulders sagged slightly.

“It's Jakob, isn't it?” She asked.

Gavrel nodded, looking away.

“First Yevvie and Lita, then you and Jakob, now me and Joey,” Izzy said.

“Us Milkoviches, Man,” Gavrel agreed.

As they walked back to the kitchen door, Izzy asked, “Have you told Daddy and Daddy Ian?”

“They know,” Gavrel said.

“Yevvie?”

Gavrel shook his head.

“Does Joey know?” He asked. “About you?”

Izzy's face turned red.

“I hope not,” she said.

 

To Be Continued...


End file.
